Smoked - Mari Mancusi Page 0,43

lab. She was abused, probably impregnated against her will—maybe even without her knowledge. And, well, now she has this crazy idea that these sweet little baby dragons are going to grow up and destroy the world.” She frowned, reaching out to chuck Zoe under her chin. “Which is completely ridiculous, of course. Isn’t it, baby girl?”

Caleb stared at Scarlet, then at the dragon, a cold chill suddenly spinning down his spine.

Oh God.

That actually wasn’t ridiculous at all.

In fact, it made perfect sense.

He watched as Zoe leapt from Scarlet’s arms to playfully tackle her brother, who had managed to find another half-eaten rib. Sure, they looked innocent now. But would they stay that way? If Emmy had really been impregnated by the government—and he didn’t see how else it could have happened—could these two dragons be the same genetically engineered hybrids that were destined to set the world on fire once they hit puberty?

Scarlet wouldn’t know about this, of course. No one would have mentioned the pesky little time-travel details of their mission to her—or of the dragon apocalypse that was forever looming. All she had to go on when it came to dragons was Emmy herself. She had absolutely no idea the possible ramifications of keeping these two creatures alive.

His heart pounded uncomfortably in his chest. “So, what, then?” he asked, trying to keep his voice steady. “You’re just planning to raise these guys on your own?”

“What choice do I have?” she shot back, the fear in her voice retreating, replaced by anger. “I mean, just look at the poor little things. Abandoned by their mother for no good reason. Just like…” She trailed off, looking from dragon to dragon, her eyes misting. “Anyway, I don’t care what Emmy thinks. Zoe and Zavier are not evil. I know they’re not.”

The fierceness in her voice made Caleb’s heart squeeze. His mind involuntarily flashed to Fred, his own dragon. Sweet, goofy Fred, whose only crime had been devouring too many ham bones at dinner. Connor had assumed Fred evil too. And he’d mercilessly slaughtered her without bothering to find out if this assumption was true.

But still… Caleb set his lips together. “No offense, Scarlet,” he said. “But how can you be sure? I mean, if their own mother believes them to be bad…”

She looked up at him, her eyes beseeching. “Because the cave wasn’t the first place I’d seen them,” she admitted. “I met them before—in the Nether—when I was coming to look for you.” Her face heated in a blush, and Caleb swallowed heavily.

“They picked me up and flew me to your sky house,” she explained. “They told me they were Emmy’s children, waiting to be born. Without their help, I never would have found you. Which means I never would have been able to break out of that truck to go find Trinity and Connor either. Which means,” she continued, her voice rising, “Trinity would have let Connor shoot Emmy, and she would be dead now.” Her voice broke with frustration. “Emmy owes these baby dragons her very life…whether she wants to admit it or not. And now…so do you,” she added, gesturing to Zavier.

Caleb forced a nod, his mind whirling with indecision. These dragons could be hybrids. By all rights, they should be hybrids—with history replicating itself in the government lab. And if they were hybrids? Well, Emmy wouldn’t be wrong in wanting them dead.

But then again, what if they weren’t?

He considered this for a moment. After all, this wasn’t like the last time. Not exactly, anyway. This time, the Dracken were in the picture. Mara was working side by side with the government scientists. She was a dragon expert. She could have saved some DNA or sperm from the dragons they’d brought back from the future. Sure, those dragons had been mutated and deformed because of the time travel. But they were still purebloods. And if Zoe and Zavier really were the progeny of that particular type of pairing? Well, that would make them purebloods too.

He knew what he should have been doing. He should have been marching out of the shack right then and reporting everything he’d seen to Trinity and Connor and the rest of Team Dragon. Then, once everyone knew the facts, they could discuss it like rational people and figure out what to do about this little…wrinkle in their plans.

And yet, his feet stayed glued to the floor. Mostly because he knew already, without even taking a step, exactly what his brother would say.

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